While out walking . . . I happened upon a dried cadaver. . . . The bones were entirely bare, held together by the ligaments alone, and only the origin and insertion of the muscles were preserved. . . . The next day I transported the bones home . . . and constructed that skeleton which is preserved in Louvain . . .—Andreas Vesalius1

On December 5, 1537, Andreas Vesalius was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Padua. On December 6, he was appointed professor of surgery and anatomy, making him the first person salaried to teach anatomy at any university. Within five months of his appointment, Vesalius was able to articulate a human skeleton for teaching purposes and publish drawings of his anatomic findings (Tabulae Anatomicae).2(pp156-157) It is during this intensely fruitful period that Vesalius studied the ligaments and muscles.